On The Road Again - Memphis, Des Moines, RED ROCKS!
Posted by Jeff on Monday 05th of July 2010 12:24:02 PM.
I had originally planned on having the bus driver stop in eastern Alabama for our day off. It was basically half way from the coast of South Carolina to Memphis. But after talking with him, he decided he would go all the way and not charge us full price. We arrived early in the afternoon, and it was hot. Hazel was with us on this run. She reminded us that we were in HER neighborhood now, and the humidity is simply a part of life. Seriously.
We had the night off, with the show happening the next day. A bunch of the band and crew guys went out for some ribs at a place called Rendez Vous Ribs. I decided to hang back on the bus and ended up getting a ton of work done. I think I made a PB and J.
The next morning, I showered, went outside to the bus, and started sweating. We made our way to the Minglewood Hall, a newer venue that we had not been to before. Great room, and we hope to return each time through that part of the country.
I have a feeling that Memphis is a really cool town. Sadly for our band and crew, we rarely get to experience all that these cool cities have to offer, as we get in and out of town in such short order.
Minglewood Hall is a great room. First time we have ever been there. Spacious, good people, good crew. I recall that during sound check, the band tried practicing the new song "Beautiful", and it sounded really good from the front of house. They played it that night it sounded great. (If you have not emailed your local radio station yet to request the song, we NEED you to do it. So take a moment right now before continuing on...)
After the Memphis show, we rolled for an overnight drive on the tour bus towards Des Moines, IA to meet up with our old Promoter friend Tom Zmolek. Good guy, likes our band and enjoys booking us in the Iowa area. We loaded in to another new venue called People's Court. Been there a few years, but it was our first visit. Another band from Colorado called Head For The Hills opened up the show. A solid bluegrass sounding band that did very well. We rocked out for the last time before our biggest show of the year.
We woke up the next morning on our way home. We made plans to unload the bus and trailer upon our arrival, and to get the band members over to KBCO Studio C for an afternoon session that was broadcast live to the Colorado area. The gear went from the bus trailer to a 24 foot box truck the evening before the show. The next morning, I woke up, drove to a hotel to pick up Dave, our Guitar tech, and then headed to the office. We loaded up the merchandise, grabbed a couple Go Fast Energy drinks, and headed to the best venue in the country, RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATER.
We loaded in our gear, I visited with the sound and lighting teams to be sure we were all on the same page, and then we began the process of assembling backline and preparing for our sound check. Always a very busy day for us here, as we don't have the same large number of crew that national touring acts have for such a large venue. But we have the drill down pretty well.
This was one of the best years we have had at Red Rocks in a long while. Everything went very smoothly. We had a few minor things that made the show memorable, however. If you were there, you will remember that pesky little rain shower we had to endure. It was actually fairly intense, but thankfully it was short lived. Also, it was warm out, so at least the state's largest wet t shirt contest didn't lead to any sort of chill in most of the crowd. It stayed warm, and the crowd cheered the rain, almost daring the rain to continue. It stopped in pretty short order and the crowd applauded even more. The secret surprise we held for this show was revealed when the band took the stage. I walked them upstairs to stage right and into the bulkiest stage prop we have ever used, THE COLONEL. This was the van we traveled in for a few years when we first started making road trips east to Chicago and west to San Fran and all points in between. It served us well for a good while, until, of course, it started to "age". We had to retire it and move on up to the next van, "The President". The Colonel was relegated to Brian's property up in Nederland, where it sat for around 18 years until we maneuvered it to the stage on JUNE 5th. The band members crammed in to the van, and we rolled in out on to the stage, where they exited and made their way to their gear, amidst the "smoke" we shot out from under the van simulating a smoking engine. We thought it looked pretty cool.
The band then began the show by playing the Midnight Radio album from beginning to end. Very memorable. After the last song, they retreated to the van, climbed in, and we rolled them off the other side of the stage. Within a few minutes, they were back on the stage to finish out the night with another 20 songs (or so) of old and new BHTM. We hope everyone enjoyed it. By the time we loaded out, unloaded back in Golden, returned the truck and drove home, it was 3:45AM when I crawled in to bed. Long day.
Next up, notes from our New England Fly trip.
Jeff
New and Improved Street Team!
Posted by Stacey on Wednesday 16th of June 2010 05:37:17 PM.
We have fired up our STREET TEAM once again, with the help of Fanmanager.net. It's really happening now, with all sorts of information you can use, and it's now easier than ever to help promote our band. Social Networking tools are now a major focus, and you can earn redeemable points for your efforts. Check it out!
http://www.fanmanager.net/teams/bighead ... hemonsters
REMINDER: Get your "select-a-set" in by 06-16 Midnight!
Posted by Jeremy on Tuesday 15th of June 2010 09:40:25 PM.
If you live in Colorado, or anywhere for that matter,
Get your "Select-a-Set" suggestion in by TOMORROW (Wednesday, June 16) at 11:59 PM.
The idea is you pick a 3-song "set" of songs that have a common theme, and submit them to KBCO to play during their "Select-a-Set" segments during the weekend.
http://www.kbco.com/pages/select-a-set.html
Herman's is a 500-seater dive bar and a big part of the band's history, and mine as well. So, if you want to see a "unique" show, please check it out and submit a "select-a-set."
My recommendations: Pick three songs that have a unique "theme", that are songs you think KBCO will play. Don't pick 3 songs from the same band, or three songs that have too much of an obvious connection.
Like this:
Jack Johnson, "You and your Heart"
Donovan Frankenreiter, "What cha Know about"
G-Love and Special Sauce, "Philadelphonic"
Jack Johnson, G-Love and Frankenreiter are all surfers, and all three appeared on Frankenreiter's 2005 album, "Some Live Songs". The album was also produced by Jack Johnson.
Jack Johnson also wrote G-Love's song, "Philadelphonic", which appeared on his 1999 album of the same name.
G-Love guest appeared on Johnson's new album, "To the Sea", and also on the Frankenreiter song "What cha Know about."
Yep You're welcome.
On The Road Again - IA, MO, SC tons of miles
Posted by Jeff on Friday 11th of June 2010 06:42:37 AM.
Later that year.....
A week or so after Mother's day in June, I was instructed to call Jefferson County, CO about appearing for jury duty the following Monday morning. Sure enough, my number came up. I was actually looking forward to serving this time around. The last time, in Boulder County, I was picked and interviewed by the attorneys in a domestic case, but was excused. Something about not having any children.
I hung out at the courthouse Monday morning for a few hours and was excused. Oh well. Maybe next time. The timing would have been good here though, as we were scheduled to hit the road the following week, and those trials rarely exceed 3 days.
The next week came around, and we were off. On May 25, we loaded up the bus and trailer while our new driver, Duane, slept ahead of an overnight drive east towards Council Bluffs, IA. I picked him up at the hotel, rolled back to the band office and warehouse in Golden, Co, and off we drove into the night, with plenty of water, Budweiser, and a bottle of Vodka just in case.
We had been to the Whiskey Roadhouse in the Horseshoe Casino several times, so we knew the routine here for sure. Always a good show, always a good crowd, and always a fun time signing autographs at the merchandise table afterwards. Just a bit of sarcasm in that last statement. As some of you may know, I am the guy that TRIES to move that line along, getting everyone all "autographed up" without having to spend the night. I can tell you that after doing this for quite some time, the biggest hang up we have in this process is peoples' inability to properly operate their cameras in an efficient manner. The photo ops take a long time to complete. I long ago prohibited folks to come around the back of the signing table for autographs. It just takes too long. And as soon as one person does it, everyone decides that's what they want to do as well. Add on to that the aforementioned "camera challenge" many people have, and you can see why the line would move so slowly. And after a long work day and big rock show, it's tough. My vow is to try to have the band sign autographs if time and space allow, and we all hope the picture taking is smooth. Tough to hold a smile while the camera is being turned on, focused, etc.
Anyway, in Council Bluffs, we signed. Lots of cameras, but we pressed through. Our new merch person, JC, did a great job on his first gig. Thanks to all of you who purchase the new shirts, DVD's etc. It means a lot to the band.
In a rare touring exception, after that show, we did NOT drive off in to the night to the next town. We loaded up the bus and simply rolled back to the local Council Bluffs hotel, where we spent the night. This is usually the spot in the story where a rock band would write about how they had a big party on the bus with chicks and beer at the hotel and threw TV's from the windows down in to the pool and were fined by the hotel manager. No such behavior with us however. Just a quiet night in our own rooms that were provided by the promoter. Our next show was the day after next, a Friday, at the outdoor Rib Festival. So we took a nice simple day drive and arrived the evening before the Rib Fest gig, checked in the hotel and had the night off. I took the short walk from our hotel before it got dark, down the hill from our hotel to see the Arch. I've seen it a bunch of times, but it still amazes me as an architectural marvel. It's three sided for crying out loud! Remarkable. I took some fun photos, did some people watching, and then eventually headed back to the hotel, and soon after, a handful of us gathered to walk down the street for some dinner. I think we made a bad call on the restaurant choice, TGI Friday's, but any port in a storm. It was a bit run down, not exactly sparkling clean, but we just made jokes about it and got fed. No coroner, no foul I reckon.
The Rib Festival is one of our favorite gigs. We have known Larry, the Production Manager, for years, and he enjoys having us because we are so easy on him. We set our gear, but could not sound check due to the proximity of the outdoor stage to the businesses in the area. We simply struck our gear and made room for the other two acts on the FRI night bill, Shooting with Annie and Shooter Jennings. (so much violence....) Good crowd, good time. Great weather for an outdoor show. I had everyone amped up for a quick load out and pack up. Why? Try Mapquesting this -- St Louis MO to Isle of Palms, SC! Management and Booking and even the band had inquired to me about having to make this very long bus run, but hey, I didn't BOOK the shows. I just prepare to get us TO the shows. Originally this was going to be a "fly" weekend, but it soon grew in to a bus trip, so I set up our driver for success by getting him maximum rest before this nearly 900 mile drive to the ocean. We got their at around 4PM, as I had hoped and planned, so all worked out. Duane slept long that night. While he slept, we rocked. The first two nights at the Windjammer were sold out for Memorial Day Weekend. We had a good time with Bobby, who runs the joint, and he took good care of us as he always does. On Monday, early afternoon, some of us even jumped in Bobby's boat with him and took a fun ride in over to Mt. Pleasant for a couple Coronas and some BBQ'd scallops and shrimp. Bobby always gets the royal treatment, so we felt like kings at this cool outdoor bar. It's always smart to hang out with Todd in these situations, as he will sometimes draw a fun crowd to shake hands and get an autographs, etc. Good way to meet folks. After our lunch, we jetted out past Ft Sumpter, then headed back towards the intercoastal, where we stopped briefly to see if we could catch any fish. No luck, but we only hung out for a few minutes fishing because we had to get back to work in short order. Monday night was ALMOST sold out, but we were certainly happy with the crowd and the three day attendance. After the last show, we packed up, and after Bobby gave us some Chicken Salad and bread for the road, along with ice and water, we hit the road again, heading west now, towards the Volunteer State.
Continuation coming soon...
Jeff
Video trip down memory lane
Posted by Jeff on Saturday 22nd of May 2010 12:27:57 PM.
I found this on the KBCO web site:
http://www.kbco.com/cc-common/videos_on_demand/
click on B and then scroll down for some old band videos from back in the day.
Oh, and while you're at their web site, request Beautiful!
Jeff
Seattle -- Your turn to email radio!
Posted by Jeff on Friday 21st of May 2010 03:19:23 PM.
I found the station in Seattle that will play us if we bother them to do so:
http://www.kmtt.com/
Click on the "Equest a Mountain song on the right side of the home page and flood them with your desire to hear BEAUTIFUL. I think we are close to announcing our Seattle date for JULY, so help us out NOW!
Jeff
Hey Baltimore!!! - Can you help us out???
Posted by Jeff on Wednesday 19th of May 2010 01:05:18 PM.
If you listen to 98ROCK in Baltimore, we need your help.
We need you to go to
http://www.98online.com/
and request the band's new single, BEAUTIFUL, from the new record, ROCKSTEADY.
We need to get on the radio there so we can get a show booked at a great venue for some time this summer!
Thanks in advance.
Jeff
XPN in Philly adds Beautiful!!! (My home town!!!)
Posted by Jeff on Monday 17th of May 2010 09:42:52 PM.
Hey everyone.
I've emailed my close friends in Philly already, so now I'm throwing it out there to anyone within listening distance of XPN in Philadelphia:
Email the radio station to request the new BHTM single, BEAUTIFUL, from the forthcoming record, ROCKSTEADY. This is the best way for us to show them that the song is gaining traction with their listening audience. My Mom is doing it, as well as several of my high school friends! (class of 2003, oh wait, ok, 1983..yikes.)
Thanks everyone.
Jeff
Tour Manager
Rocksteady Pre-sale is ON!
Posted by Stacey on Monday 17th of May 2010 05:53:42 PM.
BHTM's latest studio offering to be released 7/20/10 is now availble for pre-order. Pre-order now and receive an AUTOGRAPHED COPY!!!
http://tinyurl.com/3a9mzrf
Pound KBCO with requests for BEAUTIFUL!!!
Posted by Jeff on Monday 17th of May 2010 12:09:48 PM.
KBCO in Colorado is playing the bands latest single. If the whole state of Colorado emails them or calls them to hear it AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN, this would be great.
Take 30 seconds and go for it.
Jeff
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